Open Studio (I): Investigation of Sound and Modernology

The first round of open studios for the “Chuen Lung Visual Archive” — The Investigation of Sound and Modernology, will be held from 26 April to 10 May, 2025, over a two-week period, to present the research findings of artists Sui Fong and Sunny Wong. Sui Fong explores Chuen Lung’s rich auditory landscape through sound investigations, reactivating the dormant sound memories of its history; Sunny Wong draws inspiration from the everyday lives of villagers, delving into the contemporary cultural significance of their practices. Through a fusion of sound and daily life, history and modernity, their work unveils a new chapter in the story and future of Chuen Lung.

Sunny Wong Presents: Chuen Lung: The Pulse of Objects

Sunny Wong showcases a fieldwork map created through the lens of “modernology,” delving deeply into the folk wisdom of Chuen Lung. As Japanese architect Kon Wajiro described in his publication Modernology, modernology “as a methodology, focuses on the ‘objects’ visible before our eyes today, with its ultimate concern being the present state of humanity.” Sunny’s exploration highlights key aspects, such as villagers’ upcycling of everyday items, hand-made farming tools, objects from past industrial production, and vernacular architecture.

By learning from villagers, for instance, the exact wrist twist for efficient sweeping, the unspoken rules for bargaining with local gods, using the right tools for picking vegetables — Sunny uncovers how these instinctive practices, though lacking systematic rationale, mirror subconscious approaches to living within specific socio-temporal frameworks. Through these items, he narrates stories of “observations along the roads of Chuen Lung”, revealing a rich tapestry of culture, history, and ingenuity.

Sui Fong Presents: A Stream a Path

Sui Fong uses sound as a medium to collect childhood stories and the soundscape of Chuen Lung, exploring “the wisdom of finding joy in hardship (苦中作樂)“ from children’s perspectives. These narratives inspire a series of creations surrounding auditory memory, sound guides, and Chuen Lung instruments, titled A Stream a Path.

Even during the 1960s, a time of resource scarcity, the connection between humans and their environment, as well as the yearning for life, never ceased. For adults who are engrossed in daily labour and have forgotten their playful, inventive selves, this serves as a crucial reminder. By interviewing villagers, Sui Fong reconstructs playful routes and creates “Chuen Lung Instruments” inspired by these oral histories. For instance, what kind of melody might emerge from picking watercress? Could the act of collecting firewood and pine needles for fuel, often viewed as a tedious chore, be reimagined as a performative gesture of play? When recording and reconstructing fleeting memories of mountain winds and disappearing species, are we, in essence, creating fantastical new forms of life?

The fictional instruments inspired by these interviews serve as keys to unlocking memories. Using these as a medium, she invites villagers and the broader public to explore how sound can evoke recollections and reimagine life in Chuen Lung. By doing so, she guides people to rethink the dynamics of human, environmental, and ecological interactions. Through collective remembering and imagining, she fosters the recreation of shared memories.